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Home » Victories for Fundora, Adames and Ramirez on Davis vs Cruz undercard

Victories for Fundora, Adames and Ramirez on Davis vs Cruz undercard

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Sebastian “Towering Inferno” Fundora moved closer to a world title shot with a 12-round unanimous decision over the previously-unbeaten Sergio Garcia in a WBC Super Welterweight title in the Gervonta Davis vs. Isaac Cruz co-main event Eliminator.

The final scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 115-113.

Fundora established control quickly, snapping Spain’s Garcia’s head back with a booming left. The two traded evenly through the early rounds. Garcia had his moments, including a sharp overhand right in the fifth that drew blood from Fundora’s nose.

The 23-year-old Fundora found his range in the sixth, pumping the jab and using his 6-foot-5 frame and 80-inch reach to keep Garcia at bay.

“I was using my distance a lot more. I wanted to display something different than what I’m used to,” said Fundora. “Height was definitely a difference in this fight.”

During the second half of the bout, Garcia struggled to land. Apart from a couple of moments in the 12th when the two combatants stood toe-to-toe.

“Maybe things could have been different if I had been more aggressive from the beginning,” said Garcia. “I shouldn’t have let myself get carried away by what he was doing.”

Fundora believes he’s ready for a world title shot.

“We just beat the No. 2 in the WBC, so we have No.1, and we have the champion,” said Fundora. “Whoever they give us next, we’re ready for.”

In a thrilling back and forth, Carlos Adames (21-1, 16 KOs) overcame a stiff challenge from former world title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-4, 10 KOs) to win a 10-round majority decision in their WBC Middleweight World Title Eliminator.

Both combatants had their moments, but facing the toughest opponent of his career, the 27-year-old Adames shined. One judge scored the middleweight bout even at 95-95, while the other two scored it for Adames by 96-94 and 97-93.

“This means a lot for me in my career, and this is a big accomplishment winning against a fighter of his caliber,” said Adames, who was born in the Dominican Republic and fought out of Washington Heights in New York City.

“I am aggressive and speedy by nature, so I came in ready to do my thing. He started slow, wanting to see what would happen, and had the wrong game plan. He got a bit tired as the fight went on, took a lot of hard shots from me, and it was evident that I caused him a lot of damage.”

Adames began the fight out of the southpaw stance, using his athleticism to land a nice left uppercut as Derevyanchenko dipped in and then an overhand left at a distance later in the round.

Carlos Adames
Ryan Hafey

Adames controlled the action in the second, landing single shots from the outside. “The Technician” roared back toward the end of the round, straightening Adames up with a short right.

Adames switched to an orthodox stance in the third and was equally effective, nullifying Derevyanchenko’s charges with a quick jab and well-timed counters. A right cross in the fourth staggered Derevyanchenko, but he bounced back to land in return as the crowd roared in appreciation.

The middle frames featured more give-and-take action. Derevyanchenko’s steady diet of punches overwhelmed Adames at times. Even so, the Dominican used speed, power, nifty head movement, and ring IQ to keep his relentless opponent at bay.

The latter rounds featured more of the same. Derevyanchenko never stopped coming forward, but Adames wouldn’t be denied.

“I expect my opponent to fight the same style. It was nothing special for me, just a quality fight,” said Derevyanchenko.

“He stayed southpaw. That was the difference in the fight. I don’t know what I’ll do next. I need a little bit of rest, and then I will go back to the gym because I love boxing, and I love the show.”

“This gives me an opportunity to move on,” said Adames. “I dominate at both 154 and 160, so wherever they give me the opportunity to fight for a championship is where I’ll go.”

RAMIREZ

In the opening bout of the SHOWTIME PPV telecast, super featherweight contender Eduardo “Zurdito” Ramirez (26-2-3, 12 KOs) was in peak form, winning a wide 10-round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Miguel Marriaga.

“I would like to thank the fans, SHOWTIME, and the Montiel family for supporting me. Marriaga was a tough opponent, but I managed to dominate,” said Ramirez. “I had a varied fighting style and kept him on his toes the whole time.”

Marriaga (30-5, 26 KOs) was the aggressor throughout, particularly in the first round as he backed Ramirez up with combination punching. The latter found his range midway through the frame, utilizing an accurate jab. In the third, a right hook followed by an overhand left floored an off-balance Marriaga for a flash knockdown.
“We started strong, but then things got progressively harder. But we are pleased with the work we put in today,” said Marriaga. “We should have been savvier, but we tried our hardest in the face of a great opportunity that, unfortunately, we could not take advantage of.”

Ramirez dominated after scoring the knockdown, punishing Marriaga from then on with an assortment of shots to the head and body. Final punch stats had Ramirez landing 280 of 762 (36.7%) total punches to Marriaga’s 159 out of 689 (21.3%).

“Now I’m going to relax with my family and enjoy the holidays,” said Ramirez. “Then hopefully, 2022 will come with a title shot for me.”